California Clint and His High Horse
Idaho’s legislature has seen its fair share of characters, but Clint Hostetler, or as we’ll call him, “California Clint,” takes the cake. Fresh off the moving truck from Sacramento, California, in 2021, Clint rode into the Magic Valley with the zeal of an evangelical missionary and the polish of someone who’s never entirely understood Idaho’s deeply rooted conservative values of local control, good governance, and common sense.
Clint isn’t just new to Idaho—he’s new to the idea of representing people. His lips are firmly planted on the backside of the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) and their propaganda machine, which dictates every move he makes. Without the heavy-handed help of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), a Texas-based pro-drug legalization group, and IFF’s well-oiled misinformation network, Clint would never have been elected.
How We Ended Up With California Clint
Clint’s rise wasn’t the result of grassroots Idaho support; it was an out-of-state operation from start to finish. The Magic Valley Liberty Alliance (MVLA), a far-right Christian Nationalist group, served as his local cheerleaders. Meanwhile, YAL dumped $30,000 into their efforts to take out sitting Republicans who didn’t pass the IFF purity test.
YAL’s playbook was simple: import door-knockers from Texas and Florida spread lies about “fake” Christians in the legislature, and convince Magic Valley voters they needed Clint to save Idaho. These outsiders peddled propaganda, presenting Clint as the knight in shining armor Idaho didn’t ask for. The result? He appears to be a bought-and-paid-for legislator who does whatever the Nates and his mentor, Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, tell him to.
Once elected, Clint wasted no time proving he wasn’t here to represent the people of the Magic Valley. Instead, he whipped out the IFF Freedom Index and began voting accordingly, as if it were a legislative Bible. Forget nuance, forget what his constituents might actually want—Clint’s job is to rubber-stamp every policy Ron and Maria Nate hand him.
Rep. Hostetler may shoot for a Freedom Index score just under 99% just to show voters that there is a 1% chance he might think for himself.
HR 1: Clint’s Crusade Against Gay Marriage
One of Clint’s most cringeworthy moments came during a hearing on HR 1, a resolution urging the Supreme Court to overturn its ruling that protected same-sex marriage. Instead of focusing on the legislative merit (or lack thereof), Clint used his platform to spar with a Christian minister who dared to oppose the resolution.
During the exchange, Clint tried to weaponize scripture, asking the minister where he derived the “supremacy in your authority” and pressing him on interpretations of homosexuality in the Bible. The minister’s responses were thoughtful, nuanced, and, frankly, gracious. However, Clint’s condescending tone and lack of understanding of the separation of church and state exposed just how unfit he is for the job.
Idahoans deserve lawmakers who know how to govern, not zealots who try to impose their personal religious views on everyone else.
H1: A Voucher Program Nobody Wants
If Clint’s HR 1 crusade wasn’t bad enough, his “school choice” bill, H1, was even worse. Pushed as a voucher program to help parents, the bill was really a bloated welfare program for private schools. It would have funneled $250 million in taxpayer money into private institutions, expanding government in a way that no real conservative should support.
Even former Idaho Freedom Caucus leader Scott Herndon called out Clint’s dishonest bill. Herndon, no stranger to far-right politics himself, criticized the bill for its massive price tag and lack of accountability. But that didn’t stop IFF from giving it a glowing +5 on their Freedom Index. Why? Because Clint’s handlers at IFF needed to defend their shiny new puppet, no matter how bad his bill was for Idaho.
IFF’s spin machine went into overdrive, producing articles, videos, and social media posts to portray Clint as a “true conservative” champion of school choice. But Idahoans aren’t buying it. This bill was an expensive government welfare for wealthy private school parents disguised as freedom.
The Bigger Threat
Clint Hostetler isn’t just a problem because of his own ineptitude—he’s a symptom of a much larger issue. Groups like YAL and IFF are turning Idaho into their ideological playground, using out-of-state money and resources to push policies that don’t reflect the values of Idahoans.
YAL, the same group that helped Clint, has a long history of supporting pro-drug legalization policies. Their partnership with IFF and MVLA is a marriage of convenience that prioritizes power over principles. Together, they’ve created a pipeline of candidates like Clint: inexperienced, ideological, and utterly dependent on their handlers.
California Clint’s High Horse
Clint loves to call himself a “true conservative,” but his record tells a different story. He’s voted for government expansion, wasted taxpayer money on ideological crusades, and used his platform to promote religious dogma. His actions show a fundamental misunderstanding of what conservatism is supposed to be while he rides high on his pearl-clutching hypocrisy.
Idaho deserves lawmakers who represent the people—not outsiders, special interests, or bought-and-paid-for puppets like Rep. Clint Hostetler.
About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican. His articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. He and his family moved to Idaho Falls from Utah in 2013 and reside in Star.
Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in exercising their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.
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Greg, I really like this article. So many other legislator names could replace Clint's while maintaining the v theme and exposure of this assessment. Kudos!
Wow! You hit the nail on the head with this one. He's Herndon on steroids.......